1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to dishwashing appliances and, more particularly, to a door assembly for a dishwashing appliance, and apparatuses and methods associated therewith.
2. Description of Related Art
A washing appliance, such as a dishwasher, generally includes a tub portion having a forward-facing vertical opening, wherein a door is engaged with the tub portion so as to be pivotable about the lower end of the tub portion and to close the tub opening during the washing process. In this regard, conventional dishwasher models typically include a door having a separate polymeric “inner lining” (i.e., the inward surface of the door facing the interior of the tub portion). However, in such instances, if the polymeric inner lining is to be used for any structural purpose in the dishwasher, the inner liner must be appropriately reinforced by another separate structure. For example, a door assembly may include a plastic door liner and a metal reinforcement panel which is staked to the plastic door liner. In such instances, the metal reinforcement panel provides additional stiffness, strength, and provisions to which to attach various mechanisms and components, such as counterbalance arms/hinges, for providing the pivotable engagement with the tub portion. However, the additional metal reinforcement panel may undesirably increase the cost of the dishwasher, and the staking process for joining the metal reinforcement panel to the plastic door liner may be difficult and labor intensive, resulting in excessive rework and scrap.
Such a dishwasher door assembly may also include a control panel engaged therewith for controlling various components of the dishwasher. Accordingly, appropriate wires or a dedicated wiring harness, connecting to the control panel, are often run outside the metal reinforcement panel (i.e., the metal reinforcement panel separates the wires running to the control panel from the plastic or polymeric inner liner). However, the wiring harness must be routed over existing structures associated with the door, and may thus rub or chafe against, for example, a hinge support rod for facilitating a pivoting motion of the door assembly, and/or a kickplate positioned on the forward side of the dishwasher about a base thereof, when opening and closing the dishwasher door assembly. As such, conventional dishwashers having such a configuration may often implement a chafe guard for the wiring harness such as, for example, a protective corrugated tubing wrapping about the wiring harness, as the wiring harness runs about the structures associated with the bottom of the door assembly to the operative components of the dishwasher, which are typically housed within the base of the dishwasher under the tub portion.
Further, a dishwasher door configured in such a manner may use the metal reinforcement panel as a “flame barrier”. That is, the metal reinforcement panel may act as a barrier for flame advancement should the wiring harness catch on fire. However, the metal reinforcement panel may not necessarily be configured to prevent fluid leakage from contacting the wiring harness. As such, in some instances, leakage of some liquids, such as a rinse aid from the detergent dispenser, may cause deterioration of the insulation of the wires of the wiring harness, which may lead to the aforementioned fire hazard. The “chafe guard”, if implemented, may not necessarily be fire-resistant or liquid/chemical-resistant.
Thus, there exists a need for an apparatus and method for a washing appliance for reducing the production costs and improving production efficiency associated with the washing appliance. There further exists a need for an apparatus and method for reducing hazards associated with control panel wiring extending within a door assembly of a dishwasher.